2021-4170-AJHA – 1 APR 2021 1 A Comparison of Dede Korkut and Nibelungen Epics: 2 Family and Child 3 4 This study aimed to describe and compare the family and child themes in the Turkish 5 Dede Korkut Epic and the German Nibelungen Epic. The qualitative study used a 6 screening model and document analysis techniques. Two researchers first reviewed 7 the epics' authenticity and then created themes and sub-themes considering the 8 narratives about the family and the child in the epics. The agreement rate among the 9 three researchers was 83.15%. Three themes were labeled as family characteristics, 10 family relationships, and family and education. It was concluded that there were 11 similarities in both epics about the family and child issues and the differences about 12 heritage. 13 14 Keywords: Epics, Dede Korkut Epic, Nibelungen Epic, Family, Child 15 16 17 Introduction 1918 20 Epics are folk narratives that reflect cultural, social, and political events 21 and extraordinary adventures of heroic characters. Epics might convey both 22 actual historical events and fantastic stories. The epics that have left deep 23 traces in the memory of nations mainly involve long narratives of historical 24 events and heroic themes told orally. This narrative type is essential in 25 introducing and transmitting cultures to future generations (Çobanoğlu, 2000; 26 Ergin, 1981). Although epics’ content is not entirely consistent with the 27 historical facts, they reflect various aspects of a nation such as characteristics, 28 attitudes, behavioral patterns, values, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, morals, 29 customs and traditions, craftsmanship heritage, dressing, and eating and 30 drinking habits, so they are valuable sources of historical, social, technical and 31 educational information (Şimşek, 2007). Epics show the landmarks in a 32 nation’s history and shed light on the collective subconscious of a nation by 33 indicating national perspectives, reaction mechanisms, and solutions for 34 historical events (Keskin, 2018). 35 As considered, the subconscious of nations, especially the national epics, 36 reflect the national ideals and implicitly or explicitly aims to transfer them to 37 future generations (Keskin, 2018). Cultural codes can be found in narratives, 38 and the collective cultural products include narratives such as myth, fairy tale, 39 legend, epic, and folk tales, in which public memory is stored. The epic heroes, 40 appearing in the name of the society and its virtues, are the society's leaders. 41 Society idealizes such heroes for future generations. Therefore, the epic heroes 42 represent their cultures (Keskin, 2018). 43 Epics are long narratives that provide extensive information about a particular society and culture. Some researchers have conducted comparative 1 2021-4170-AJHA – 31 MAR 2021 1 2 studies on epics to reveal the similarities and differences between 3 communities. For example, in their studies Sepetçioğlu (1992), Adıgüzel (1997) 4 and Özcan (2013) compared Turkish epics. Some researchers compared 5 Turkish epics with other national epics (e.g., Abdurrezzak, 2014; Ertürk 2015; 6 Kıyak, 2010; Taflı 2006; Yılter, 2017). Kırgız (2019) also conducted an 7 international comparison study on epics. The current comparison study aimed 8 to examine Dede Korkut and Nibelungen's epics to determine family and 9 children themes and perspectives and compare the similarities and differences 10 between Turkish and German nations. 11 12 13 Epics 14 15 Dede Korkut Epic (Stories) 16 17 As stated in the introduction of the book, the original name of the Book of 18 Dede Korkut is “Kitab-ı Dede Korkud Alâ Lisân-ı Tâife-i Oğuzcan," which means 19 “the Dede Korkut Book in Oghuz Language." There are a prologue and 12 20 stories in the book, each of which is about a tribe. The book includes sections 21 on the tribal events, the tradition of naming, and the struggle with 22 supernatural and otherworldly powers. 23 Dede Korkut Stories were first discovered in the Northeastern Anatolia 24 region at the beginning or the middle of the 15th century and constitute a 25 valuable piece of Turkish culture mosaic. The stories are the first examples of 26 the shift from epic to story in Turkish literature and valuable sources of 27 literature, language, tradition, history, and geography. They also provide 28 much information about the family and social structure of the Oghuz tribe. 29 According to Ergin (1981), Dede Korkut Stories have both folk tales and 30 epic roots and are short, so they should not be considered just epic. However, 31 the protagonists are epic. Dede Korkut Stories are heroic legends based on 32 historical events and including an epic style and epic elements (Ergin, 1981). 33 Thus, we used the term epic for Dede Korkut Stories in the study, as it has been 34 acknowledged as the shared legacy and symbol of the cultural identity in the 35 Turkish world for centuries. 36 The stories’ contents in the Book of Dede Korkut are as follows: 37 - In the first story, Dirse Khan's bold warriors slander him and urge his 38 son, Bugach Khan, to kill his father. When they fail, they turn over Dirse Khan 39 to the infidels. 40 - In the second story, while Kazan Khan has a hunting party with his 41 beys, the infidels attack his tribe and capture his wife, son, and mother. 42 Kazan Khan and his friends attempt to save them. - In the third story, the infidels kidnap Beyrek at a wedding. 2 2021-4170-AJHA – 31 MAR 2021 1 2 - In the fourth story, Kazan Khan teaches his son, Uruz, how to fight, 3 and the infidels capture Uruz. 4 - In the fifth story, Azrail defeats Deli Dumrul. 5 - In the sixth story, Kan Turalı wrestles with monsters for the daughter 6 of Trabzon Tekfur. On their way to the tribe, they are attacked by the 7 infidels. 8 - In the seventh story, Yigenek fights the infidels to save his captive 9 father. 10 - In the eighth story, Basat fights the Cyclops, a monster-human. 11 - In the ninth story, Begil falls off the horse during a hunt, his enemies 12 attack his tribe, and his son fights and defeats the infidels. 13 - In the tenth story, Segrek fights to save his captive brother. 14 - In the eleventh story, Kazan Khan is captured by enemies while 15 sleeping and is saved by his son. 16 - In the twelfth story, the Outer Oghuz revolts against the Inner Oghuz 17 due to a matter of dignity (Kaplan, 2004, p.16) 18 19 The Nibelungen Epic 20 21 The Nibelungen Epic is the most elaborate German narration in Southern 22 Germany. The anonymous epic was about the king of Huns Etzel (Attila) 23 period and was written in the 17th century. The traces of the epic can still be 24 observed in German culture today (Ünal, 2019). There are two significant 25 parts, "Death of Siegfried" and "Kriemhild’s Revenge," and 2437 stanzas in the 26 Nibelungen Epic. 27 Briefly, it is about Siegfried, a young hero who kills a monster and takes 28 Nibelungen's treasure. He falls in love with Kriemhild, the sister of Gunther, 29 the king of Burgundians reigning in Worms. The king approves Siegfried’s 30 marriage with his sister if he helps him marry a queen. Siegfried manages to 31 marry the king's sister. However, queen Brunhilda does not consent to marry 32 king Gunther. Therefore, the king once again asks Siegfried’s help. Siegfried 33 brings Brunehilda's silk belt and gold ring to the king and helps them marry. 34 After long years, a war breaks out between the two queens. Kriemhild accuses 35 Brunhilda of being Siegfried’s ex-wife and shows the silk belt and gold ring as 36 evidence. Once upon a time, Siegfried covered his body with dragon blood; he 37 is undestroyable except for a particular part of his body. The queen knows 38 that body part and has her warriors to kill Sheffield. Kriemhild marries the 39 King of Huns Etzel (Attilâ) and takes his revenge (Umar, 2001). 40 Both epics were examined periodically. In this sense, the Dede Korkut 41 Epic originated in Central Asia in 10-12th centuries before the Oghuz became 42 Muslim, and it has been conveyed to future generations by oral tradition for 43 centuries (Gökyay, 1973). It was written down and immortalized by an anonymous poet with artistic skills and competence in Oghuz epics (Banarlı, 3 2021-4170-AJHA – 31 MAR 2021 1 2 1971; Boratav, 1977; Ergin, 1981). Ergin (1981) stated that an unknown bard 3 wrote down the Dede Korkut Epic at the end of the 15th century and the 4 beginning of the 16th century. 5 Originally called Nibelungenlied, the Nibelungen Epic is a German 6 narration written by an unknown author living around the Danube River. This 7 epic is sometimes called Lied (poetry-epic) or Sage (legend) in German as it 8 covers supernatural and extraordinary events, mythological stories, and 9 legends. There are 36 manuscripts of the epic written between the 12th and 15th centuries (Keleş, 2010). 10 11 12 Method 13 14 The study was carried out with the document analysis method. Also 15 called the document screening method, it is a qualitative research method for 16 analyzing written materials such as books, magazines published on facts, or 17 pictures and films about past events (Karasar 2008, Yıldırım and Şimşek 2013) 18 19 20 Data Analysis 21 22 Two researchers analyzed the epics by using content analysis, one of the 23 most frequently used qualitative data analysis methods. The method is mainly 24 used for deductively analyzing written and visual data (Silverman, 2001; 25 Özdemir, 2010).